Interpreting Slavery: Building a Theoretical Foundation

Do you interpret the institution of slavery or the lives of enslaved people at your historic site/museum? Join us as we share the theoretical underpinnings for interpreting slavery, including how contested narratives and race play a role in the giving/receiving of interpretation. This webinar will help you achieve a greater understanding of the difficult knowledge and complicated emotions surrounding this complex history.

The subject of slavery is fraught with emotion and complex dynamics of race and identity. Some institutions shy away from or cover up their connection to slavery; others are ignorant of the history or how to go about telling the complicated stories, while a small segment of the field is tackling these issues head-on. There is clearly a need and desire, to tackle head-on the anxieties that face museum personnel when interpreting the multi-faceted history of slavery in America.

This webinar helps public history professionals grow not only in knowledge, but also in skill, and sensitivity as they interpret slavery. It will help staff work through their concerns about sensitive issues of race and slavery, and provides them with key tools and techniques to understand their own learning/acceptance process related to interpreting slavery, handle controversy, and promote awareness. Attendees will also learn how and why visitors respond to receiving new information on the history of slavery; and gain specific skills to help audiences to a greater awareness of, and ability to sensitively engage with, the history of slavery.

Kristin Gallas is a consultant with the Tracing Center on Histories and Legacies of Slavery, overseeing the design of workshops for educators and public history professionals. She is the co-editor of Interpreting Slavery at Museums and Historic Sites (Rowman & Littlefield, January 2015), among other publications on best practices in the interpretation of slavery. She has led the education/interpretation departments at the Montana Historical Society, the USS Constitution Museum, and currently at the Tsongas Industrial History Center.